[sdiy] MIDI output current and MIDI-driven gadgets

[Benjamin Tremblay]

Sorry I should not say hub.
What I mean is HOST.

The host protocol is a tax on developers.

We do not need “hosts and peripherals”. We need “cables” connecting devices. 

I can’t just plug one USB C device into another with a USB C cable and expect them to talk to each other. That’s asking too much. That’s what drives me crazy. USB MIDI works great if you have a HOST, otherwise you are dead in the water. I have been adding host support to my Teensy projects but I can’t boil that ocean.

Benjamin Tremblay

> On Jun 4, 2026, at 9:57 AM, Mike Bryant <mbryant at futurehorizons.com> wrote:
> 
> 
> Not sure where you are seeing a hub ?   Most sound generating boxes with USB can operate in either mode so you can plug a keyboard straight in, no hub, PC or anything just as you would with DIN.
> From: Benjamin Tremblay <btremblay at me.com>
> Sent: 04 June 2026 14:35
> To: Mike Bryant <mbryant at futurehorizons.com>
> Cc: Synth DIY <synth-diy at synth-diy.org>
> Subject: Re: [sdiy] MIDI output current and MIDI-driven gadgets
>  
> If USB wasn’t a hub-based protocol with a built-in cost of adoption. 
> The actual wiring for USB is just fine and getting better all the time. What’s wrong for MIDI is this 90s-era idea of a “peripheral” Zip drive that is powered by your gateway 2000 laptop. All that brilliant design thinking ruined USB for MIDI because a hub is nothing but a toll gate we already paid for and nobody wants. Does anyone really want a hub at all?
> 
> Benjamin Tremblay
> 
>>> On Jun 4, 2026, at 9:30 AM, Mike Bryant <mbryant at futurehorizons.com> wrote:
>>> 
>> 
>> You mean USB ?  🙂
>> From: Synth-diy <synth-diy-bounces at synth-diy.org> on behalf of Benjamin Tremblay via Synth-diy <synth-diy at synth-diy.org>
>> Sent: 04 June 2026 14:19
>> To: Synth DIY <synth-diy at synth-diy.org>
>> Subject: Re: [sdiy] MIDI output current and MIDI-driven gadgets
>>  
>> Why can’t we just develop a new protocol based on cheap UARTs and passive components that runs I dunno 25x faster and works like patch cords instead of hubs, isn’t gated by some consortium, and is backward compatible if you add a cheap adapter?
>> 
>> 
>> Benjamin Tremblay
>> 
>> > On Jun 4, 2026, at 8:47 AM, Neil Johnson via Synth-diy <synth-diy at synth-diy.org> wrote:
>> >
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>> > Mike Bryant wrote:
>> >
>> >> Agree on the spec, but 48V would destroy many of these Chinese MIDI
>> >> devices that omit the opto-isolator =F0=9F=98=84
>> >>
>> >
>> > Yes - the bonus feature.
>> >
>> > Neil
>> >
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>> > <div dir=3D"ltr"><div dir=3D"ltr">Mike Bryant wrote:</div><div class=3D"gma=
>> > il_quote gmail_quote_container"><blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"=
>> > margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-lef=
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>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > <div dir=3D"ltr">
>> > <div style=3D"font-family:Aptos,Aptos_EmbeddedFont,Aptos_MSFontService,Cali=
>> > bri,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;color:rgb(0,0,0)">
>> > Agree on the spec, but 48V would destroy many of these Chinese MIDI devices=
>> > that omit the opto-isolator
>> > <span id=3D"m_-4663179895464832597=F0=9F=98=84">=F0=9F=98=84</span></div></=
>> > div></div></blockquote><div><br></div><div>Yes - the bonus feature.</div><d=
>> > iv><br></div><div>Neil</div></div></div>
>> >
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